Low-sulphur diesel late but welcome - Volume, variety of used-car imports expected to increase

Sheldon Williams, Gleaner Writer

The prospect of low-sulphur diesel being available at petrol stations is encouraging news to president of the Jamaica Used Cars Dealers Association (JUCDA), Lynvalle Hamilton. He said the high sulphur content of diesel currently available has led to the damage of a number of engines.

"It is something that is known and we have in the past made our concerns known and I think it (the low-sulphur diesel importation) should have happened long ago, but, nonetheless, we support the move at this time," he said.

"We have seen several instances where the engines of vehicles have been damaged as a result of the high sulphur content. With a number of vehicles, the lifespan of the engine is shorter. I think it's widespread knowledge that the diesel here is not quite compatible with a number of the diesel vehicles that we import. It works, but if we had the low-sulphur diesel your engine would have a longer lifespan," he said.

To compound matters a strong selling point of diesel engines, fuel efficiency, is affected. "The high-sulphur diesel fuel also affects the fuel efficiency, because if your engine is being eroded, over time, it's going to affect the performance of the engine and you'll burn more fuel as a result of that," Hamilton said. He admitted that the problem has affected the purchase and sale of some vehicles but added that some dealers usually purchase vehicles with a mechanism called a fuel condenser that is used to mitigate the high sulphur content's effect.

"Some dealers get what you call a fuel conditioner, or fuel condenser, that you attach to the fuel line and it really condenses the fuel to burn the sulphur and make it into a lower sulphur, but you have to buy that and not all the dealers have access to it," Hamilton said.

The device works as "before the fuel really flows through the engine it's condensed somewhat to bring it as close as possible to what the vehicle is compatible with. It's a conditioner. What we find is that the vehicle that uses the conditioner, its engine normally has a lesser chance of being damaged by the fuel".

Still, he reiterated that "it's widespread knowledge that the diesel that we use here is not entirely compatible with the vehicles that we have here".

"It has decreased the demand somewhat for those vehicles. Such as the Toyota Hiace and the Hilux Vigo. It's mainly the pickups, mainly the buses, whether it be the Hiace or the Caravan, but it's just those vehicles mainly because it would affect others, but we don't really operate a lot of other diesel-operated vehicles in the used-car industry."

Hamilton expects importation variety of diesel vehicles will increase as soon as the low-sulphur fuel enters the market. "I think the dealers will be much more comfortable in bringing in the vehicles. In times gone by persons would import the vehicles, but they would also worry about the vehicle being damaged during the warranty period. It would bring much more comfort to the dealers now knowing that the fuel coming in will be compatible with the vehicle," Hamilton said.

EUROPEAN MARKET SOURCE

He also highlighted that dealers may import more units from the European market including luxury makes like Audis. "We will definitely be importing more diesel fuel vehicles, now that we realise that the right fuel is being imported. You have a number of vehicles out of the UK like the Audis. A lot of the vehicles that you find in gasolene in Japan, you find them in diesel coming out of the UK, and a lot of dealers have shied away from importing these vehicles in the past because of the fuel problem. I would think that now the consumers are aware that the fuel is more compatible the dealers will be more inclined to import these vehicles. Vehicles like the Audi A5 and Audi A6 and all brands, because in Europe they mainly deal with diesel, because it's more fuel efficient, actually, and they get it cheaper," Hamilton said.

Interestingly, he pointed out that even though the problems with diesel engines have been well documented that did not stop imports entirely. "I wouldn't say dealers entirely stop importing, but there has been a decline in the number of vehicles because a number of persons are aware of what can happen and even if they bring in the vehicles, they will let the customers know," he said.

Hamilton identified common problems. "The injectors can be damaged and also the engine themselves. A number of other things as well - it all depends on the usage. I'm aware of instances where dealers have had to change the engine of a car. Also, the cylinders can get damaged," he said.

Meanwhile, Kent LaCroix, chairman of the Automobile Dealers Association, opted not to elaborate on the low-sulphur diesel issue, explaining that he will be attending a scheduled meeting with Petrojam, among others, before he offers comment in detail.

"We are expecting to have meetings with Petrojam. Mr Winston Watson (Petrojam's general manager) is calling a meeting with ourselves and other persons to discuss exactly what will happen. We have no clue what's happening, and in addition to that, we have heard this story so many times before, so we await the meeting with Mr. Watson to discuss it further," he remarked.